True Feelings
by ryuuniji
Summary: Kaoru is a high school student. One morning her best friend told her that the heartthrob of Japan has a crush on her. How will she react? Story Type: AU
1. Chapter 1

**True Feelings**

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**A/N:** Hello all readers. I hope all are having a great time in the world of fan fiction. This is my new fan fiction which popped up in my head few months back at one midnight and since then I have been working on it. The setting is Japan, somewhere in Kyoto prefecture. The time will be just few years ahead of present time... um at first I thought it would be maybe around ten to twenty years ahead but now as my work progressed I decided to pick a specific year and that would be 2043 from where the story will begin. However, please do not expect anything super futuristic like space or Mars or alien or too much use of super technology and computers only because I said the time will be ahead. I just needed to follow an exact calendar so that I don't lose track of time of the story. So please read it imagining the contemporary world, maybe little advanced and changed. The time will be ahead or unspecific so that it will not contradict with real-time and original history. And oh! ... How can I forget? Since this is an alternative universe story, please be aware of out of characters. Please don't complain about any specific character by saying s/he's not like that in the manga or anime. But if there is anything about any character you don't like, you can always make your negative comments.

**Disclaimer**: The characters belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki's masterpiece Rurouni Kenshin.

**Summary:** Kaoru is a high school student. One morning her best friend told her that the heartthrob of Japan has a crush on her. How will she react?

**Story Type:** Alternative Universe

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**Chapter 1**

**...  
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The story begins sometime in the middle of November.

One morning in the school...

Kaoru heard the voice of her best friend, Misao, who was running towards her from the door of the locker room when she was closing the door of her shoe locker after changing her shoes.

"Kaoru-chan! Kaoru-chan!" Misao was panting.

"Come down Misao-chan. Breath." Kaoru gently patted Misao's left arm with her right hand while holding her schoolbag with left.

Misao pushed Kaoru to the farthest corner of the room and spoke in low voice as if she was going to share something secret.

"Guess what!" She was overjoyed with some exciting news.

"Umm... What?" Kaoru pretended to guess then smiled raising an eyebrow. It's Misao's usual behavior. Misao always spoke to her like that when she wanted to tell her some exciting news about her boyfriend, about her dates with him and his presents.

"Himura." Misao whispered.

"Himura what?" Since Misao spoke in a low voice, Kaoru did the same.

Misao grabbed her friend's both hands after hanging her schoolbag across her right shoulder and started to take tiny jumps in excitement as she spoke, "Himura has a crush on you." with a big smile and big eyes.

"Yeah. In your wildest dream." Kaoru rolled her eyes with a smirk.

"No. Kao-chan. It's not. Wait a minute." Misao went to her locker, quickly changed her shoes and went back to the corner Kaoru was standing.

"Remember the cosmos valley we invaded during our summer camp?"

"Yes." Sure she remembered. The senior students of their school had that camp only four months back during the first week of their summer vacation.

"He was there."

"So?" Kaoru shrugged her shoulders.

"So?! Just 'so'?" Misao sighed. "Kao-chan! You're supposed to ask 'oh really!' or 'Oh my god! What was he doing there?'. Not 'So?'."

"Oh yeah! I only learned to speak this morning and so I didn't know what to say when I'm not bothered by the news of a celebrity was somewhere around the same place where I was at the same time."

"Kao-chan."

"What?" Kaoru smiled again.

"It sounded really stupid."

"Really? Wonderful." Kaoru again rolled her eyes and gave a grin.

"And rude. You're forgetting the fact that Aoshi-sama is one of them and a friend of Himura and..."

"Oh yeah! I should ask your Aoshi-sama to smack Kenshin on his head with his guitar."

"Kaoru-chan! How could you say such thing?!"

"Well, I'm sorry. I really don't wanna know any other boy's crush or whatever. I'm done."

"He's not any other boy. He's The Himura. Himura Kenshin: The heartthrob of Japan!"

"Yes. I know that. And so does the world."

"And he has a crush on you." Misao tried to put emphasis on every word to make Kaoru understand the importance of this news.

"I don't care. Let's go to class." Kaoru shrugged her shoulders and was about to leave but Misao stopped her.

"You haven't heard the rest of the story yet. First listen and then decide."

"Okay." Kaoru sighed. "Tell me your story."

The senior students of Kaikyo Haisukuuru had a summer camp in a village to learn about the ways of village life. There was a small valley covered with cosmos flowers caught the attention of some students and so they went up there to take photographs. Unknown to all those kids, a pop icon of the country was taking a stroll around that valley at that time.

It was Himura Kenshin who is an actor, a singer, a songwriter and a super model. He is also a member of the most popular boy band named Niji Ryuu owned by a production house name The Dragon's Heart.

That day he was visiting that place to select a shooting spot for an upcoming new TV series along with the Director and few crews. After finalizing everything he wanted to take a walk and look around. The spot was just two miles away from the valley where the kids were enjoying the view of nature. When he was walking, he didn't realize for how long he's been walking or how far he came.

Anyway, when he came closer to that valley, he saw the boys and girls chatting and taking photographs. From their uniform he could easily tell that they were from Misao's high school. He knew Misao through Shinomori Aoshi who is his friend and another member of Niji Ryuu. He noticed Misao and her friends but decided not to go up there to say "hello" as he did not want to catch anyone's attention or let other girls make a big deal out of it. So, he simply went back to his shooting spot. However, a specific girl caught his attention who was chatting with Misao. He assumed she was a close friend of Misao and his hunch was not wrong. He kept on wondering whether he should ask Aoshi about that girl or not for next four month. Then when the lads along with few other close friends had a drinking party last weekend, everyone asked why he's been spacing out these days. It was not like him. They could tell he had something in his mind. And so, they forced him to tell them what it was. So Kenshin had to tell them about the girl who stole his heart and he doesn't know who she was. The only thing he knew about her was that she was a friend of Misao and went to same school. He wanted to ask Aoshi if he had any idea who she was but always thought it would be inappropriate. Nevertheless, from the description of that girl's appearance Aoshi easily identified her as Kamiya Kaoru whom he met several times at Misao's home.

Well, Aoshi happened to be a student of Misao's grandfather Kashiwazaki Nenji who is a martial art expert. He often visitted his Shishou in his leasure time from whom he mastered many moves of a skilled martial art artist and even wielding sword at the age of just twelve. For which he is now a popular action hero in Japan's film industry. However, we can say visiting his Shishou was an excuse as he actually wanted to visit Makimachi Misao whom he adored since she was little. She was left in care of her grandfather after the death of her parents since she was only four. At that time, Aoshi was eight years old, a promising student of his Shishou. He had other friends among his Shishou's students but he enjoyed spending little time with little Misao when they had break from practice. Similarly, Misao was also fond of him. As they grew up, when his admiration and her fondness turned into love, none could tell.

Misao and Kaoru became friends from the first day of their middle school. Kamiya Kaoru was always a sweet girl whom Misao always introduced to everyone as her best friend. Ever since they became friends, they visited each other's home a number of times and sometimes even stayed overnight. And that was how Aoshi met Kaoru. He liked her. But this liking was not like romantic type but more like something you can say like a good friend, like a younger sister etcetera. That's because he knew she was a good girl and best friend of Misao. So, Aoshi told Kenshin what he knew about Kaoru. Then Kenshin asked Aoshi if he could actually tell Misao about it as he liked to be introduced to her friend. Aoshi told him he will but did not promise anything.

"Last night I had a long chat with Aoshi-sama. He told me about Himura then. Himura was visiting that place for a shooting. I mean he was taking a break from the shooting on his upcoming new TV series, you know, the most talked one, which is based on a legendary swordsman..."

"Of Tokugawa era. Yes I know. You told me before."

"Yes and... where was I? Yes. He was taking a walk. He saw me but didn't come up to chat as other kids were there too. He saw you chatting with me and since then he could not get you out of his mind."

"And who told you this? Aoshi-sama?"

"Of course!" Misao laughed and clapped her hands in excitement.

"And you decided he has a crush on me?"

"I didn't decide anything. It's too obvious."

"Only because he said he couldn't get me out of his mind doesn't mean that he has a crush or whatever."

"It _is_ a crush."

"Very funny Misao-chan "

"No. it's not!" Misao protested. "Why do you think it's funny?"

"I can understand someone else from their friend circle telling you something like that but Aoshi-san?" Yes, Kaoru doesn't call Shinomori Aoshi, Aoshi-sama. She used the honorific 'sama' earlier intentionally to tease Misao. "It has to be funny and 'unbelievable'." Kaoru raised her hands and quoted the word 'unbelievable' with her index and third fingers in the air.

Misao smiled and pull out her cell phone from her skirt's pocket, "Well, if you don't want to believe me I can call Aoshi-sama right now and you can ask him yourself."

"Misao-chan, you'll only bother Aoshi-san by making this call and asking this crazy question." Kaoru stopped her from calling.

"IT'S NOT CRAZY. IT'S TRUE. I WILL CALL..." Misao yelled and was about to dial the number but Kaoru snatched the phone from her hand. At this Misao started to hit the ground with her legs like a stubborn five-year-old kid. At this everyone who was there turned their attentions towards them.

"Mi-i-sa-o-o!" Kaoru whispered to her friend with teeth grinding to make her friend realize the curiosity of bystanders.

"Oooh!". Misao was getting impatient and started to jump and about to cry. "Why won't you believe me?"

Kaoru just turned to the onlookers and bowed slightly with a smile plastered on her face.

"We apologize. It's nothing serious guys. Just do your own things." At this other students turned back to their own chatting and started to leave the hall and Misao calmed down.

Then she went back to the topic they were chattering about but she was speaking in a low tone like before.

Kaoru gave Misao her charming smile. "You dream about Aoshi-san every night. So he must have told you something that you wanted to hear in your dream and after waking up you decided it's real."

"That's ridiculous. Aoshi-sama didn't say anything about Himura in my dream."

"Aw! I'm sorry Misao-chan." Kaoru gave an innocent smile. "What did he tell you then in your dream?" She was planning to change the topic and motivate Misao to talk about Aoshi instead.

"Why should I tell you that?!" Misao blushed.

_So she did have a dream on Aoshi-san last night. How adorable. _Thought Kaoru.

"It's okay sweetheart, you don't need to say anything." Kaoru gave Misao a wink.

"You're trying to change the topic." Misao became red with annoyance.

Kaoru sighed. "I don't care even if it's true. I don't have any interest. Besides, I know his history." Kaoru explains.

"You just know what everyone else knows. What's the problem to say only 'hi' to him? He won't eat you alive." Misao was getting frustrated.

"Misao-chan, I'm really fed up with all these boys. What do they take me for? A celeb?"

"Well, I guess you're too pretty to miss the eyes of any young man who's single." Misao joked but it's not a lie.

Kaoru was genuinely beautiful. Her alluring fair skin and perfect curves could grab attention of a pervert man. (Hey! Don't get me wrong. Kenshin is not a pervert.) Her sparkling blue eyes, sweet and innocent smile or laughter could catch attention of anyone who knew how to appreciate true beauty. (Kenshin just knew how to appreciate true beauty, that's all.) Her friends often told her to become a model but she never showed any interests. She had more interest in creative works such as composing music, writing songs and painting.

"Ggrrr! Shut up Misao." Now Kaoru was annoyed. It irritates her when someone makes such comments about her appearance.

"I'm sorry. It was a bad joke". Misao gave grin as she was happy to get her revenge.

"Yeap. Keep that in mind."

"So. Where was I? Yes. He asked Aoshi-sama to tell me to introduce you to him."

"So cheesy. Do you really expect me to jump in the air in excitement and talk to him after hearing that?"

"How is it cheesy?

"He knows you. He could ask you himself instead of asking Aoshi-san."

"He doesn't have my phone number. But I did ask Aoshi-sama similar question and he said he thought it would be impolite. Besides, he needs to be careful as he's not a regular guy."

"Exactly my point. He's a celeb. And celebs don't have any privacy."

"That's wrong. Aoshi-sama does have his privacy."

"They can have only if they keep a clean profile. Kenshin always have paparazzi or stalker or crazy fans following him around everywhere he goes. And it seems he's not bothered by it."

"Don't you think if he was like that for real then he could just come towards us to chat since he knows me?"

"I... I really don't know. Maybe that's because there was no reporters around."

"You're wrong. If he was like that, he would just come to us to chat as almost every student has cell phone and everyone has accounts in Facebook or Twitter which is much easier way to get publicity."

"Whatever." Kaoru rolled her eyes again.

Come on Kao-chan. Just once."

"He's... he's not my type."

"For kami's sake Kaoru-chan! How do you know he's not your type without even meeting him?"

"I don't have time."

"Sure you do. Kaoru-chan, I'd understand if you had interest in same gender but you're not."

"I don't trust him."

"Why?"

"I... I don't know. I don't have interest."

"You know you might not ever get a chance to meet someone like Himura, and you might end up regretting all your life for that. Just give yourself a chance. You can trust him. Trust me."

"You're too stubborn Misao."

"So, does it mean you're agreeing to meet him?" Misao asked with a big happy smile.

Kaoru stared at her friend for few seconds.

"No."

Misao sighed with disappointment.

"Can we just finish this discussion? The bell will ring at any moment. I'm leaving." Kaoru looked at the clock hanging on the wall of that hall and reminded Misao about the class. They had only three minutes. The other students have already left the hall. There were just two of them... or at least that was what they thought. So they started to walk towards the stares.

"Why you don't trust him? Be honest."

"He's a womanizer."

"He's not!"

"He _is_."

"Why are you talking like a tabloid reporter?"

"I'm not talking like a tabloid reporter. He's a celeb and keeps on changing his girlfriend one after another."

"How does changing girlfriend make him a womanizer? He only dated them. Everyone dates these days."

"He's a celeb and I don't trust them."

"You're forgetting that Aoshi-sama is also one of them." Misao pouted.

"Well, accept the fact Misao-chan. Not everyone is like Aoshi-san. He's different."

"Of course and he's very special."

"So you shouldn't feel upset when I criticize a celebrity. I'm sorry if I still sound rude."

"He's Aoshi-sama's one of the closest friends too."

"Close friend but not best. And a womanizer too!"

"Damn it Kaoru-chan! They've been friends since high school and by closest, I meant best."

"That still doesn't change him into a good person. I really don't understand why Aoshi-san sees him as a friend."

"Kaoru-chan!" Misao growled and showed Kaoru a fist. "I'm gonna kill you someday if you ever speak of Aoshi-sama like that."

"Okay. Okay. I'm sorry. I take back what I just said."

By now they reached to the floor of their class and so they stopped chatting about this topic.

When they were taking their seats, Misao whispered to Kaoru, "We still need to talk. And we'll talk about this during lunch break."

"Fine." Kaoru just sighed. There was no way she was going to lose. She'll have to think about some genuine reasons which will convince Misao why she doesn't want to date 'The heartthrob of Japan'.

Misao however wasn't going to give up until Kaoru agrees to meet Himura. Though Aoshi-sama never told her to convince Kaoru to meet Himura at any cost, and only told her about Himura's crush and interest to meet Kaoru-chan, she was doing this for her own interest. She doesn't want to lose Aoshi-sama to Kaoru-chan. She trusts her Aoshi-sama completely, but there is no guarantee that Kaoru-chan will never fall for her Aoshi-sama. She'll let Kaoru-chan pass only if she can convince her with evidence that she's actually seeing someone else.

**TBC**

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**A/N**

**I'm not good in picking up titles or names or drawing a summary of a story until the middle of the story. So, might change the title later and will put a proper summery. **

**I thought to name the band Niji Ryuu first, and then changed it to Ishin as I did not want to keep seven members in that band. But again changed my mind thinking Ishin would not be the right choice as I choose the TV series on Tokugawa Era where Ishin Shishi played a major role to establish the Meiji government. So, I changed it back to Niji Ryuu, since it's not necessary that the band must have seven members because of the word niji which means rainbow. It can also mean the colors or beauty of rainbow or how it is used as a positive term in many places such as peace or gay rights or simply a part of celebration of something. And yeah, yeah. It's my name too. Cheesy. Right?  
**

**Anyways, Based on my research, summer vacation for Japan's high school starts on July 21 and ends on August 28 when the second half of the first semester begins. **

**And October 11 is the beginning of the second semester, therefore, this is the second semester of high school seniors.  
**

**The usual temperature of July is 22 to 31 degree Celsius which is 71 to 88 degree Fahrenheit.**

**November temperature is 5 to 17 degree Celsius which is 41 to 62 degree Fahrenheit. November is Autumn. **


	2. Chapter 2

**True Feelings**

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**A/N:** I really wanted to make an update on first week of the New Year but I couldn't finish the editing. There were five drafts and so I kept on cutting and pasting, then editing and re-editing this chapter. So, it took some time.

Thanks for waiting. Thanks to kyoandyuya, NightengailFarie and Sapphire for reviewing the very first chapter. I hope you all will enjoy this and the next chapters too. Thanks to kyoandyuya for putting this story in your favorite list. I hope this story will remain your favorite till the end. Thanks to all those who have put this story in the alert list. I hope you all will follow it till the end.

Enjoy :)

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**Chapter 2**

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They had four consecutive classes before break. The moment the bell rang, Misao was about to drag Kaoru out of the classroom but Kaoru protested.

"Wait a minute Misao-chan. At least let me take my lunch." So Misao let her friend take the lunch out of her schoolbag while she did the same.

As they step down the stairs, Kaoru asked, "So where do you wanna go?"

"Dunno, will look for a less crowded place."

"Must we talk about it?" Kaoru asked with a little frustrating tone.

"Sure we do." Misao replied instantly.

"Why don't we finish our lunch first? I can't think properly when I'm hungry."

"We'll have our lunch when we find our place to talk. Now stop talking. You'll make me confused. I want to find a place where we won't need to whisper."

They first went to the hallway of the lockers but there were students either changing shoes or chatting, so they changed their shoes and walked out of the main building. They walked around different spots of the school to find an isolated place so that they can have some privacy. In between their quest they bumped into a number of their friends but Misao only greeted them and allowed Kaoru to do the same. She didn't want to waste her time chatting with them as at that moment convincing Kaoru-chan was her priority. After looking around for five to six valuable minutes they finally found a spot. It was under a maple tree which was at the furthest corner of the backyard of the school.

Misao looked around as they stood under the red tree where the ground was covered with green grass and few fallen leaves.

"I don't see anyone around here. We can sit here." Misao said as she set on the ground crossing her legs. Kaoru set folding her legs beneath her facing her friend.

"So, where was I?" Misao asked.

"You wanted to kill me someday." Kaoru replied jokingly.

"Oh! Yeah. So, since he's a friend… no. not just friend. One of the best friends of Aoshi-sama, you can be sure he's a good person and not like other performers. You know Aoshi-sama is very good in judging people's personality." Misao explained with pride.

"That's why I was saying if he is so…"

"Don't say it again Kaoru-chan." Misao interrupted.

"But you don't know what I was going to say."

"You know what Aoshi-sama advised me once?"

"What?"

"That we should always think before what we say. Since once a word is said, it can't be taken back. Words are like swords. If you use them wrongly, you might end up hurting your friend's feelings or even killing your friendship." (A/N)

"Well, that's Aoshi-san. He understands this world much more than his age." Kaoru smiled. "That's why I respect him so much and think how lucky you are."

"Don't dare to steal him from me!" Misao warned Kaoru.

Kaoru laughed out loud. "Is that the real reason you're so desperate to set me up with someone?"

"Of course not!" Misao's face turned red in embarrassment. "I trust my Aoshi-sama."

"But you don't trust your best friend. Isn't it?"

"I didn't mean that." Misao was still blushing.

"Don't worry. I won't even think about it." Kaoru smiled and patted Misao's shoulder. "He's like an elder brother to me."

"Then trust your elder brother if you don't wanna trust your best friend." Misao almost pleaded.

But Kaoru ignored her pleading. "Anyways, there isn't anything I was going to say that I'll later want to take back."

Misao pointed out, "You were again about to criticize Aoshi-sama for seeing Himura as his friend."

"Well…" Now it was Kaoru's turn to feel embarrassed as she was indeed was about to do that. "I won't deny that but…"

"I think I should be the one to say exactly the same thing to you and only then you'll realize how much it might hurt someone's feelings." Misao became little annoyed.

"Say what?"

"I don't understand why I see you as my best friend when you're showing disrespect to Aoshi-sama."

"I think here I was supposed understand how Kenshin would feel if he hears my comment, not what you or Aoshi-san might feel."

"Really?" Misao scrub the back of her head._ Was it really irrelevant?_ She was confused.

"And I'm not showing disrespect to Aoshi-san."

"Criticizing his friends is equal to showing disrespect to him." Nevertheless, Misao still tried to defend her view.

"Okay, I see you have a point. I'm sorry." Kaoru had to admit it. Aoshi-san is older than her. It will obviously be seen as a disrespectful attitude if she criticizes his choice of friends. "I shouldn't have said such thing but I don't think you'll ever understand what I actually meant."

"You're the one who doesn't understand"

Kaoru ignored Misao and started to unwrap her bento.

"Are you ignoring me?"

"No. I'm not ignoring you. I'm hungry."

"You'll eat after we finish our discussion" Misao stopped Kaoru from removing the top cover.

"By that time the break will be over."

"Then starve."

"You're so cruel Misao-chan."

"You're the one who is cruel. Your best friend is trying to introduce you to someone awesome and you're not showing any interest at all. You don't even care for her prestige." Misao was about to cry.

"Now how is it related to my best friend's prestige?" Kaoru rolled her eyes.

"She promised her boyfriend that she'll introduce her best friend to his best friend and now her best friend is saying she doesn't have any interest. So it's a matter of her prestige, self-respect and pride."

Kaoru sighed and shook her head. "That sounded really melodramatic."

"Excuse me! Which part of my speech sounded melodramatic?! You're the one letting me down and telling me my words sounded melodramatic!" Misao was on fire.

"Misao-chan, I…"

"Are you seeing someone else?" Misao narrowed her eyes and charged Kaoru.

"No." Kaoru replied instantly. "You would be the first person to know if I were." However, no sooner she finished her reply she regretted for not lying.

"Is it because of your ex?"

"I never had an ex?" That was also an instant reply from her with an emphasis on the word 'never'.

"So, your problem is Himura's ex-dates."

"Not just ex. He's still dating. Moreover…"

"If that's the reason than you should know he's not." Misao couldn't be happier at that moment.

"Are you sure?" Kaoru smiled and asked raising an eyebrow as she was positive that he was indeed dating someone.

"100%." Misao replied with full confidence. "Do you really think Aoshi-sama would tell me to tell you about Himura if he was still dating?"

"He's dating Misanagi." Kaoru informed Misao confidently since she was too sure about it. Then opened the top cover of her bento and started to eat her lunch. She was eating an onigiri.

Misao looked at her lunch and saw there were two more onigiris, one boiled egg sliced in two, five shrimp tempura, some small flowers of broccoli, one sliced tomato in six pieces and six strawberries. That very moment Misao realized she was hungry too. So she quickly opened her bento which had fried rice, three omelets, some french-fries, six baby carrots and six pieces of a sliced apple.

"I'll share my fried rice with you if you share those tempuras and strawberries with me."

"Feel free to dig in." Kaoru held her bento in front of Misao and Misao took two tempuras and three strawberries from there. Then she gave some of her fried rice, some french-fries and two slices of apple to Kaoru.

"Where on Earth do you live Kaoru-chan? He was dating Misanagi." Misao replied by putting emphasis on the word 'was' before taking a bite from one tempura and closed her eyes as that food tasted really well. "Yum. Kaoru-chan, it's delicious."

"I'm glad to share it with you. Your rice is delicious too."

"Believe me." Misao lowered her tone and leaned towards her friend and whispered though there was no one around. "Misanagi is a bitch. She dated him for glamor only." Then she moved back to her sitting position and started to speak in a normal tone. "I'm so happy that he identified her so quickly and stopped before she could make any harm to his career."

"So… he 'was' dating Misanagi." Kaoru also put emphasis on the word 'was'.

"Yes. And now he's single and hasn't seen any girls in last six months."

"Are you sure?"

"Undoubtedly."

"Remember the girl he dated before her?"

"Umm…" Misao tried to recall but couldn't remember at that moment. "Not sure."

"Before her he dated Shura."

"Oh yeah." The moment Kaoru told her the name she remembered who it was. "That actress. They met in a reality game show last year and dated for around four months."

"And before her, Megumi-san."

After finishing both tempura, Misao took a break from eating.

"Hm." Misao nodded.

"He dated her for around eights months and that was the longest time he dated any girl so far."

"Impressive. You've studied him well." She replied after swallowing her food.

"Not really. I heard most of it from you in past years. I'm just making you recall all that."

At that moment Misao realized what Kaoru-chan was up to. So, she decided to have control on this discussion otherwise it will only demotivate Kaoru-chan even more.

"Okay. That's it. And before Megumi-san he dated Sae-san and before her Yumi-san. And you should know very well the reason then."

"It's because he's…"

"It's because" Misao intervene again as she knew her friend will again call Himura a womanizer. "some people spread stories in the internet that he's gay and dating Kamatari-san. So, all these dates were set by Sano to prove to the fans that he's not."

Sano is the nickname of Sagara Sanosuke who is another member of the band and best friend of Kenshin who always finds dates for him. It is as if he has a mission to find a life partner for Kenshin ever since a rumor was spread by a tabloid that Kenshin is gay and dating the costume designer of the band, Honjou Kamatari, who is gay, for which Kenshin had break-up with his high school sweet heart with whom he had a relationship for two years.

"Then why Sano didn't ask you to introduce me to Kenshin instead of Aoshi-san? He knows me. It's not like he never met me like Kenshin."

"It's quite simple. Himura asked Aoshi-sama about you since you're my friend and Sano probably always thought you were not the type of girl Himura would like to date. You do know all the girls he chose for him so far and you're not like any one of them. And because of that, yes, he dated a number of girls. So what? Everyone dates these days and it's not like you've never dated anyone before."

"No. those were not dates. You guys set me up. And not just once. You guys tricked me twice." She waved her fingers to show the numbers as she utters them. "I still can't believe I trusted you guys and went to those restaurants only to discover those were dates."

"Well, you wouldn't meet your dates if you knew they were dates. Like right now you don't want to meet Himura. And your first date, Seta-senpai still is the most popular student of our school besides you. He's a very good kid. He's cute, smart and talented. I really don't understand why you didn't like him. You two could become the perfect couple."

Actually, Seta Soujirou is not only the most popular male kid of the school but also the President of Student Council of their school. He's a year and grade senior from Kaoru and Misao.

"Actually, we both realized that we were not meant for each other. We can be friends but not couples."

"Way to go!" Misao rolled her eyes showed Kaoru thumbs up.

"Thank you." Kaoru was well aware that Misao wasn't appreciating her.

"And you realized it only because you dated him."

"Whatever." This time Kaoru rolled her eyes again.

"Since you didn't like him, we thought you might like Okita-senpai but no. You didn't like him either."

Okita Soushi is also a year senior to the girls who is the best pitcher of boy's baseball team of their school.

"Misao-chan. I don't want to date anyone right now and baseball is not my cup of tea."

"And we were only trying to help you to get rid of Yukishiro." _Oh crap! Why did I even mention him? _Misao instantly regretted for brining Yukishiro in their conversation.

Kaoru pointed her right-hand index finger at Misao. "You guys don't need to do anything about Enishi. Honestly. I know him and I can handle him."

"Well, I think we really made a big mistake then. Go get married to that maniac."

"Misao-chan! How could you?!" Kaoru was annoyed at this. "Only two minutes ago you were advising me that we should always think before saying anything and now…"

"He loves you."

"So what? I don't love him."

"He's crazy for you. And your parents like him too. So, you're supposed to be dating him but every time he wants to take you out you make excuses of study and exams or come to my place to stay overnight."

"Well I'm sorry. From now on I'll never go to your place to stay overnight."

"I didn't mean that. You're always welcome at my place. I was only pointing out how you try to ignore him all the time."

"That's because I don't like him. He's selfish and arrogant. He thinks he owns this world. He always gets into my nerves. Why am I talking about him anyways?" She exhaled in frustration. "Why are you guys so concern about finding a partner for me? Let me find my own one."

Yes. Her previous dates were found not by Misao only but also her other friends from this school who knew how much Kaoru despised Yukishiro Enishi, a former student of their school who was also the President of Student Council, for whom girls were crazy but not Kaoru and of course, not Misao since Kaoru knew him personally and Misao already had somebody else in her heart.

"Come down Kaoru-chan. We're not trying to find any partner for you and nor trying to set up any dates. Himura only wishes to be introduced. I'll be there to introduce you two. Trust me. You'll like him. And if you don't, it's still okay."

"No. it's not okay. I don't want to date someone who will eventually run to someone else."

"He will not!"

"He will. That's what he's been doing for past couple of years."

Kaoru ate two of the onigiris and the third one was a bit too much for her since she ate Misao's fried-rice too. So she gave it to Misao and started to eat her fruits and vegetable.

"That's not running to someone else. He just dated different girls because Sano insisted. It's not like he had a crush on any one of them or something."

"Really?" Kaoru arched an eye-brow.

"Yes. Really." Misao nodded with confidence.

"Do you remember whom he dated before Yumi-san?"

"I don't know." Misao shrugged her shoulders and looked down to her food to avoid Kaoru's eye-contact. "I don't remember. It was a long time ago. It's probably not somebody worth to remember."

And that's because it was four years ago which is indeed a long time for a high school kid.

Kaoru smirked. "It was Tomoe-san."

_Damn it! _Misao was pissed-off with herself. "Of course! How can I forget? Out of all the girls, she should be the only one you can never forget."

"And what I know is that she was Kenshin's first date and they were dating since high-school days"

_No. Since middle-school. _Misao thought but refrain from correcting Kaoru's mistake. "And hey broke-up when they were still in high-school." She reminded Kaoru. "And it's a coincidence. It's a small world. That's why Yukishiro likes you and Himura dated Tomoe-san. And now he has a crush on you. May be you two were fated to be together."

"It's a way too small world to be a coincidence. If my memory doesn't deceive me then I'm sure Tomoe-san and Kenshin are meeting quite often these days as Tomoe-san supposed to play the role of main actress and as his wife in that new series."

"And she joined the shooting only last month since she didn't have any role before that. But he had you in his mind long before that for which he was unable to pay attention to anything which is very unlike of him."

"Misao-chan, he couldn't pay attention probably because he was waiting for her to join the shooting. And maybe he doesn't have the courage to ask her for a second chance since she's engaged. Maybe that's what bothering him for which he's unable to pay attention."

"It is exactly the opposite situation of your hypothesis. Himura and Tomoe-san are history. He's not trying to get her attention or she's not going to leave her fiancé for him and you should know that better than any of us. It's all over between them."

"What if it's like he actually saw me before with someone from her family or knew about Enishi and through me he's now trying to get closer to her since he found out that you're my friend and you can introduce me to him. You know he needed a source to find out who I was."

"That's absolutely ridiculous. Why would he want to be introduced to the girl her brother likes to get closer to her? The loud and clear truth is he doesn't know anything about your relationship with her or her brother or her family. He only knows that you're my friend."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Don't ask me that. When I said he doesn't know, it means he doesn't."

"And how are you so sure that he doesn't love her anymore?"

"They were only dating. Duh! They were never lovers. You're talking like the fans who often assume crazy things. Some of his fans who don't like Tomoe-san were gossiping in the online community few weeks back that it was probably because of her. I assure you that they are wrong and so are you. They both have moved on."

"Tomoe-san definitely has moved on but not Kenshin."

"How can you be so sure? You don't even know him. You mostly know what I tell you and what his fans discuss about him in the net."

"It's a fact. If he really had moved on like Tomoe-san, he could spend longer time with someone. At least a year."

"Well he tried. He dated Megumi-san for eight months."

"Exactly. He tried and failed. And I don't like people who flirt. Tomoe-san damped him because he used to flirt with other girls of his school."

"Now, from where did you get this story? He never flirted with any girls during his school days and he still doesn't flirt with anyone. That's what Sano does."

"Oh really?" Kaoru arched an eyebrow. She wasn't convinced. Yes, it's true that Sanosuke has that bad habit, but Kenshin was never that innocent. Otherwise why would Tomoe-san break-up with him just like that?

"Oh, yeah. Really."

"I'm done" Kaoru said after finishing her lunch."We don't have much time left so finish your lunch quickly."

Misao realized she was at the brink of winning. Right now all she needed was to persuade her friend a little bit more with her own language.

"Fine. Go to class. I'll be there in two minutes." Misao now knows what needs to be done.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Yeah."

Misao did not finish her lunch. The onigiri Kaoru gave her was still there along with apple slices, carrots and strawberries.

She watched Kaoru to walk toward the school building as she put a strawberry in her mouth.

She then started brows her cell phone to call certain person.

**TBC**

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**A/N:**

I won't take credits for that tell. I've only borrowed it from _Detective Conan Movie 15: Quarter of Silence_. The original quote is, "Once those words leave your mouth you will never be able to take them back. Words are like swords. If you use them wrong way, they'll turn into ugly weapon. There are cases of broken friendship that could have lasted a lifetime if not for verbal abuse. Once you sever your ties you might not see each other ever again." which was said by Edogawa Conan to one of his friends who was quarrelling with another friend. And yeah, yeah. I know. Kaoru wasn't quarreling but was about to make a statement which according to Misao was very hurtful.

And I'm so sorry folks. I had to end the chapter here like this. What can I do? The lunch break time is always so little. From my research I have found out that in most schools of Japan students get a lunch break for 30 to 45 minutes. So, if the girls have lost almost ten valuable minutes to find the proper place for their private conversation at the beginning of the break, they would have less than 24/25 to 39/40 minutes only. Then they didn't just talk. They ate too and so those minutes went away just like that. So, based on your own reading speed or speaking ability, you can imagine the time. To me it will be 45 minutes break.

Anyways, don't lose hope. Kenshin and Kaoru you will meet someday even though Kaoru wasn't convinced yet.

Now, you guys might think how come Kaoru and Kenshin never met before if she met Aoshi and Sano already and she has been friends with Misao for so long. Well, Kaoru simply never showed any interest to meet the boys and met Aoshi only by chance since she used to visit Misao's place like I said before. Now since I haven't tell you how did she met Sano, you can assume that maybe he went to Misao's place with Aoshi and met Kaoru there or something like that. But I won't tell how that really happened or what really happen right now. I'm telling you this so that you don't get confused or think how come Sano get to see her before Kenshin and never said anything to his best friend. Anyways, I hope you guys will not be disappoint as our hero still haven't showed up since you all did get the chance to learn some info about his past dates from the conversations of the girls.

**Thanks for reading.**

**Next chapter will be up very soon.**


	3. Chapter 3

**True Feelings**

**A/N:** I really wanted to post before 2nd week of February but couldn't complete my editing. So, I'm sorry for this delay.

I hope you all will enjoy this. Do click the review button to let me know what you think.

Thanks to NightengailFarie, kyoandyuya , Sapphire and karou25 for your reviews.

Thanks to NightengailFarie, Queen Emily the Diligent, SRAS9, hapiflower, kyoandyuya, ninjakitty12 and the Dah for following this story. I hope you guys will like it till the end and if you don't, let me know which part you didn't like.

I hope other readers who are not following this story will like this chapter.

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**Chapter 3**

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Kenshin looked at his watch again. He was sure that he didn't arrive there too early. But the girl he supposed to meet is surely late. Whereas she was the one who called him and told him that she wanted to meet him. There's something very important she wanted to tell him. He pulled out his cell phone from his jacket's pocket and pushed the quick dial button.

After just one ring, she answered her phone.

"I'll be there in ten minutes." Without any greetings she answered him and then cut off the line abruptly before he could say anything.

Oh well. He can wait for her for ten more minutes. It won't hurt anyone. He laughed at her funny behavior. She was so hyper this morning and told him to figure out some time for this afternoon at any cost, and now, she was the one who was not showing up. He has been waiting for her for about forty minutes. No. She wasn't forty minutes late.

Yet.

She was actually twenty minutes late. He reached to their meeting spot twenty minutes earlier since wanted to be the nice guy and didn't want her to wait for him. So, it was partially his fault too. However, he wasn't bored or annoyed for waiting that long. Rather he was enjoying his beautiful surroundings. There were so many colors all around him and that's why he loved the months of autumn so much. And the garden was also not crowded. It was the perfect place to spend some private time together.

When she finally showed up fifteen minutes later, he didn't know why his heart skipped a beat. Was it because how beautiful she looked or was it because he has been waiting for her for over an hour? He didn't know.

She wore a full-sleeve red woolen top and a black short-skirt. She tied her hair with a red ribbon in a low ponytail. Her legs were covered with black but transparent leggins and feet had pencil-hills. Her lips were covered with red mat lipstick and eyes were drawn perfectly with black eyeliner and eye-pencil.

He greeted her with a big smile and was about to kiss her but she stopped him.

"Let's talk."

"Alright." He could understand. Yes. They shouldn't kiss each other just like that in a public place. They were no longer regular people. So they walked around to find a bit more isolated place.

They stood under a maple tree next to a pond. The tree was covered with orange and red shaded leaves. So was the ground and a bit of the pond with the fallen leaves.

"So, what is it? What do you wanna talk about?" He asked holding her right cheek with his left hand while holding her left hand with his right one.

But she removed his hand.

"Kenshin, it's over."

"What's over?" He was confused.

"I don't want to go out with you anymore."

"Go out with?" He could feel a pinch in his heart at her statement. "Were our dates just going out for you? I thought you loved me?"

"I thought so too. But I realized I never loved you for real."

"What does that supposed to mean?" Whatever she was saying, wasn't making any sense to him.

"I guess I should put it like I don't love you anymore."

"But I do and" He cupped her face with his both hands to look at him. "I'll make you the happiest girl in the world."

"No. You don't understand." She removed his hands and took a step backward. "I don't love you. There's… there's someone else."

"Someone else?" Right now his heart was beating fast. "Who is it? Does he love you more than me?"

"You can't measure love Kenshin."

"Who is it?" He felt impatient.

"Akira-san"

"Kyosato-san?!" He couldn't believe it.

"Mhm" She nodded.

"I saw you talking to him a number of times but never thought only by talking you'll choose him over me!"

"It's not like that."

"Then tell me why I'm not the worthy one." He felt like crying. "Tell me why you chose him and not me."

"You were never unworthy. It's just my heart chose him."

"For how long do you know him?" But instead he showed his anger. He grabbed her both arms and to make her stay close to him. "We knew each other since middle school. You can't possibly know him for that long. You never dated him."

"No. It's not like that."

"Then what? I won't believe if you tell me you've dated him as well when we were dating."

"I knew him even before I met you. We were childhood friends."

Hearing this Kenshin let go of her arms and took two steps backward himself.

"If you knew him for that long then why did you go out with me? Why you never told me anything about him?"

"I thought I fell in love with you."

"You thought you loved me?"

She nodded. "So, when you asked me to go out, I was happy and so I agreed to go to all those dates."

"Why you never told me anything about him?" He felt betrayed.

"That's because..."

He smirked and shook his head. The laugh was more at himself than at her betrayal. "Why would you tell me if I never bothered to ask you anything?"

"I really wanted to go out with you Kenshin. I enjoyed spending time with you. It was like… a... a… a fantasy… to... to… to date the most popular boy of the school." She looked at the ground with embarrassment after making her explanation. "If I had told you anything about Akira-san, you possibly wouldn't want to take me out."

"I can't believe it." He puts his left hand on his hip and rubbed his forehead with his right hand. Instead of her, he looked at the ground. "I can't believe that I made a fool of myself by thinking you loved me."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings like that. You're a true friend Kenshin. Anyone would be lucky to have a friend like you. I'm grateful to life that it gave me the chance to know a friend like you."

"A friend? And grateful to life?" He was mocking her statements. "Please tell me you're joking." He laughed again as he spoke but he was still sad. His heart was broken.

"I'm not joking." She now looked at him.

"So, tell me my friend," he puts emphasis on 'my friend' to mock her. "Exactly when you realized that you actually like Kyosato and not me?" He was annoyed. So, didn't bother to put an honorific after the name of Kyosato like earlier.

"It's been... sometime… probably a week."

"A week?" It was unbelievable. "How come it took you two damn years to realize that you don't love me?"

"I'm... I'm sorry. I... I... needed time. I needed to understand... understand my feelings for you and for Akira-san. I..."

"That's eighteen damn months!" He was now annoyed. "You needed time but because of that you took my time from me. If you're going to leave me anyway, why did you take so long?"

"Kenshin! I told you I was not sure."

"How can you be so selfish?"

"Selfish? We dated like many people do. It's not necessary that the people who date will become couple for the rest of their lives."

"I could go out with someone else."

"Kenshin! You're not forty. You still can go out with someone. Girls are crazy for you. The day they'll learn we've stopped dating, they'll just jump in front of you to take them out."

"Is that the real reason? Is that why you wanna leave me? Is it because of the fan-base? If it so then I'll quit singing and leave the band."

"Don't be ridiculous. You won't do such thing. Not for me or because of me. We still have a whole life ahead. This is not the end."

"You're ending our two-year relationship and telling me this is not the end? How the hell did you forget all the good times we had together? How none of our dates mattered to you? And what about our first kiss? Or will you now tell me that it wasn't your first kiss? That you kissed Kyosato before since you knew him before me?"

"It was my first kiss."

"Then are you planning now to tell me that it meant nothing special to you or were you just learning how to kiss a man so that you can impress Kyosato."

"It's nothing like that and you're the one who kissed and not me."

"Now you want to put the blame on me? Why didn't you stop me?"

"I don't know why. You kissed me so suddenly that I really didn't know how to reject."

"Then what about the kiss after that kiss and after that and after that? They never mattered to you? You never hesitated those times as well. I don't understand."

"Those... those were only kisses. So what? Why should I make a big deal out of it? People do kiss when they go to dates."

"But it matters to me. It bothers me."

"Kenshin, I'm telling you. It's not a big deal. Go date another girl and kiss her. You'll see she'll not make any big deal out of it too. You're behaving like a man from eighties."

"Does Kyosato know about our kiss?"

"No. But he knew about our dates. I'll tell him. I know he'll understand."

"It sounds like he's much mature and considerate."

"He gave me the time and space I needed. He respected my feelings."

"You just made me a laughing-stock."

"I did not. You're the one making it a big issue."

"You're dumping me and saying I'm making a big issue. After all these times can't you tell when I'm serious and when not?"

"Well, I'm sorry. I think I can't make you understand anything right now. It'll be better for both of us if we just stay away from each other for a while. So, just don't call me or look for me or make a big deal of our dates. We'll meet again as friends only when you're ready."

"I don't think I will ever understand."

"Goodbye Kenshin."

"So..., It's goodbye?"

"Hmm"

"Okay. It looks like you have already made up your mind."

"I have."

"Goodbye, Tomoe."

"Goodbye."

Kenshin couldn't believe it. Tomoe, the prettiest girl on the planet has just dumped him for another guy. He didn't know he had a competitor. If he knew, he would have tried to make her believe that he was the better man. It broke his heart and shattered his world into millions of pieces.

The colorful garden which delighted his mind an hour ago now turned black and white when she walked away from him in quick steps. He stood silently under the tree and hoped desperately that she would stop and run back to him and tell him that she was just joking or she was about to make a mistake or she was just confused and after talking to him she realized that she actually loved him and not Akira-san. But nothing like that happens. A chilly wind started to blow which caused the leaves of the big trees of the garden fall and blew in the direction the wind was passing. He hoped it would rain, so that he can hide his tears. But the rain does not fall. So he quickly wiped away tears from his eyes and cheeks and start to walk toward the direction his recently ex-girlfriend walked to, to get out of the garden, to go back to his home.


	4. Chapter 4

**True Feelings**

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**A/N:** I'm extremely sorry for not being able to update sooner. I've lost focus because of the reality of life.

Many thanks to those who decided to follow this story and many thanks to those who decided to put this story in their favourite list. Thanks to kyoandyuya and Murder-of-the-Night for reviewing last chapter. ^_^

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**Chapter 4**

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...

It has been four years since that day. The day Tomoe left him because her heart chose someone else. Today was that day. November 13.

Kenshin was musing about that day since he woke up this morning at around eight o'clock. No matter how many times he tried to forget about that day, he just couldn't stop those memories coming back to him just like he couldn't stop today from appearing in every year's calendar or the months of autumn in every year's season or the days they dated in two years and three months time.

Every time he remembers how she left him just like that, it gives him a pinch of pain in his heart even though he doesn't have any romantic feelings for her anymore. He got rid of those feelings long time ago. But he couldn't forget any of those days. He still remembers all eighteen dates very clearly which they had in twenty-seven months.

Their first date was on August 16. That day they went to a shopping mall. Two days before that day he asked her to go out with him during their lunch-break. She told him she would go out with him only if he let her decide where and when they would go and so, she picked up the mall as their place to date on a Sunday morning. They met at the bus stand at ten o'clock in the morning and from there they took a bus ride and went to a mall where they window shopped most of the time and shopped very little. She bought him a black dress shirt and red tie and he bought her a white teddy bear with red ribbon and a bracelet with multicolored artificial stones. They had their lunch at the food corner of that mall.

He remembers the day he kissed her for the first time. It was on their second date when they went to the amusement park on her fifteenth birthday which is September 1. He thought Tomoe looked really beautiful that afternoon. Their second kiss was eight days after that date on the Japanese garden where they had their first Valentine's Day and white day dates and where she eventually left him two years and two months later.

Many things have changed since that day. He never thought he would be able to move on and live his life without her. He cried for hours after returning to the dorm that afternoon from that garden. He didn't eat anything for two days, skipped school for three days, and didn't talk to any of his friends for a whole week. He didn't know how he was going to live his life without her.

He was madly in love. He thought they would stay as lovers for their whole life. He never thought their relationship would come to an end just like that. He couldn't believe she was only comparing him with another guy to judge _her_ feelings. It was unfair. He couldn't believe that she was only checking him out to know whether he was worthy to be her lover or not whereas he was always so confident of himself. He always thought of himself as cool and good looking. And why wouldn't he? He has always been a bright student. He was the captain of the Kendo Club. He was the fastest sprinter in track & field and an all-rounder baseball player. He could sing, dance and perform confidently on stage. He was basically an all-rounder, not just in baseball but in real life. The girls of his school were crazy for him. So, why wouldn't he?

But, for how long did he know her before dating?

To be precise, it has been just two years and four months. It has been since the first year of middle school. They became friends from the first day. During the final year he realized his crush and it took him four more months to gather up all his courage to ask her out. He was over the moon when she agreed to date on first proposal since she was well known for turning down other boys of not only their class but other classes too. A good number of boys became jealous of him when they started to date. But he never cared. He rather took pride in it. So, when she dumped him for another, it hurt his ego.

She was the President of the Drama Club. He liked her acting and always told her that she had the potential to become a powerful actress oneday. He wished he knew she was only pretending to like him like a professional actress does while acting in a drama.

Well, it doesn't bother him anymore knowing she belongs to someone else, knowing she loves someone else and knowing once upon a time, he thought they will stay as lovers for forever. He laughed inwardly at himself and shook his head.

He met her yesterday. They talked to each other very formally, and tried to be professional as much as possible. He assured the Director that he had no problem in acting with her as long as she had no problem and so, he really wanted to keep his words. Besides, four years is a long time. He wished to meet that pretty girl who stole his heart. He hopes his friends will introduce them soon.

He got out of his room almost twenty minutes later after brushing his teeth and a shower. He pulled out a bottle of water from the refrigerator and started to drink while dialing a number on his cell phone.

He took an empty seat next to his friend at the dining table. He decided to take two days break to clear his mind and so he called the Director. After convincing the Director, he called the manager of their band to inform him about the change of tonight's schedule.

"Hey buddy, when did you return last night?" asked Sanosuke while eating an onigiri when Kenshin finished talking to the Director and the Manager.

Kenshin is always a morning person. Even if he had to work or practice late at night, he always wakes up early. But he was too exhausted this morning after yesterdays shooting which lasted till 2am and by the time he returned to the dorm, it was already 02:45am.

"Around three." Kenshin replied gulping the water.

"Three! Why are you up so early then? You should have slept at least two more hours."

"I tried. But don't feel like sleeping." He put the bottle next to him on table top after closing the cap and took an onigiri from the served dish.

"How was the shooting?"

"It went well." Kenshin said plainly as if not in the mood to talk about the shooting and then took another onigiri after finishing the first one.

Sano got up from his seat and prepared two egg pose and four bread toast. After returning to his seat with his plate and a glass of mango juice, he started to apply butter on his bread toasts. At that time he decided to give Kenshin the most important news of the morning. "Aoshi-san talked to weasel last night."

"Sano" Aoshi warned Sanosuke from the other side of the table who was drinking green tea then after eating his portion of onigiri.

"Ehm" Sano cleared his throat. "I mean **Misao**-chan." Sanosuke put emphasis on the name to irritate Aoshi but he seemed unbothered by it. So, Sanosuke got little pissed.

Hearing this Kenshin swallowed the food he put in his mouth and took break from eating since he did not want to choke. He wanted to know the details and so he gave his friends a look.

"I told Misao-chan about your interest to meet Kaoru-chan and she said she'll introduce you two."

"Okay." Kenshin smiled but for some reason felt little anxious. _What if she doesn't have any interest to meet him? No. He needs to think positive. He's an idol. Girls are always crazy to meet him. They always follow him around when he goes to shops. They ditch classes and spend almost whole day in front of the dorm. They even gather in front of his university to get autographs or photographs or just simply to have a glance at him. He has a fake account in the online community of their fans to check out his online fan-base to know what they like and dislike about him and from there he learned that out by seeing him just for few seconds around any part of the world, when he's not performing, that is just living his everyday life, makes their life worthwhile. So…, she should be happy to meet him. _He slowly started to put food inside his mouth while thinking about all that.

Seeing him so quite, Sanosuke started to talk.

"Don't worry. The Misao-chan I know will convince jou-chan at any cost."

"You knew Misao-dono's friend for quite long?" Kenshin asked after swallowing the food.

"For around three years."

"If you knew her for that long, then why didn't you ever tell me anything about her since you were always too eager to find dates for me?" Kenshin tried to ask carelessly but he couldn't hide his curiosity.

"Back then she was too young and honestly, I never really thought you'll fall for a girl like her."

Kenshin only nodded. _It's actually true. Four years back when he had break-up with Tomoe, Misao-dono was twelve. There was no way he would want to date a girl of that age! Then again, she's now sixteen. And so, she's still too young. _He kept on eating._ So, what if she has interest in someone else? What if she has a boyfriend? She's pretty. So, he shouldn't be surprise if she has one. It's pretty obvious. If she's been a friend of Misao-dono for a long time and knew Sanosuke and Aoshi, then why __**she**__ never asked Misao-dono to introduce her to him or other members of the band or never visited the dorm with her? Any girl wouldn't want to miss a chance like that… Maybe she's not a fan of Niji Ryuu and likes one of the rival bands or has someone special in her heart. Yes, maybe that's why she never had interest to meet another member of Niji Ryuu. Maybe she's a loyal fan of that other group or artist who doesn't get crazy (in delight) seeing another famous person. He only hopes she's not an anti-fan. No. He shouldn't hope. He's sure that she's not an anti-fan. As if she was, then she wouldn't be a close friend of Misao-dono. Or… what if she really is an anti-fan and became friend of Misao-dono to leak information about Niji Ryuu?! In that case she'll be a danger for the band and his career if he wants to date her. _

"Relax Himura." Aoshi left the table and put his cup along with used dishes and chopstick in the sink. "She's not an anti-fan. I know her for a long time." He then started to wash his dishes.

Kenshin was embarrassed. He was sure he didn't say any of his thoughts loudly but was his facial expression that obvious for which Aoshi could tell what he was thinking about?

"Yes, it was that obvious." Hajime Saitou, the fourth and eldest member of the band replied before Kenshin could even ask the question. At this everyone present in that room, accept Kenshin and Aoshi, laughed out loud. Aoshi didn't laugh because he didn't find it funny and Kenshin didn't laugh because he was embarrassed.

"And she's single." Sawagejo Chou, the fifth member of the band assured who actually learned it only last night from Sano and now pretending as if he knew it all the time.

"Man! My heart is little wounded thinking about why jou-chan never showed any interest to me?" He was truly little disappointed. Then he gave Aoshi a look. "Maybe, she likes you."

Aoshi only shook his head hearing Sano's remark. _Kaoru-chan sees him as an elder brother._ He knows it well. By now he finished washing and drying his dishes and so he went back to his seat.

"Well, she can have a crush." Sano still tried to look for a better reason on why she never showed any interest to him or even ask anything about other lads of the band.

"If she had, do you really think I would tell Misao-chan to tell her about Himura? Aoshi replied Sano with a question. "And," He then looked at Kenshin, "If you have doubt, then forget her. I'll just tell Misao-chan that you've changed your mind."

"No. I do want to meet her." Kenshin said instantly before Aoshi decide to call Misao-dono and tell her not introduce her friend to him. "But I really don't get it. How come you two met her and I never even had a glance at her? I don't think she ever attended any of our concerts. There are a good number of fans I see almost in every concert and I do remember their faces clearly."

"Yes. She attended only four year-end concerts and that's because I gave Misao-chan two VIP tickets and so she forced Kaoru-chan to attend those concerts. She never attended any of our concerts on her own and never bought tickets of pits. That part is most of the time occupied by our regular fans."

"And you always bought Misao-dono tickets to your side of the stage."

"She wanted that side. So, I gave her."

"Wait a minute." Sano raised his right hand to get everyone's attention towards him. "Don't tell me it's you who has a crush on her." Sano gave a wicked smile to Aoshi.

However, Aoshi just ignored Sano and went to the recording room to spend some time in composing music. _Why would he have a crush on Kaoru-chan when all he can think of her is as a little sister he never had. But why did he have different feelings for Misao-chan then? It's probably because he knew her for much longer time. For around… twelve years. And knew Kaoru-chan for… almost seven years actually._ Sanosuke and Chou do get into his nerve sometimes. Like right now Sanosuke's words annoyed him. He tolerates him only because of Himura. So, whenever he gets this much annoyed, he comes to this room to calm himself down. Well, even though it's a recording room, this room is not for the main recording. They only practice their songs and music composition in this room.

Few minutes after breakfast, Saitou went to his university to study in the library.

Kenshin went to the study room to memorise his script even though he took break for two days. He just thought to make good use of this time.

Sanosuke and Chou went to the terrace of their dorm to enjoy fresh air. The terrace has a small garden and an artificial fountain. There are two wooden tables, few wooden chairs and four easy chairs to relax. The group often have dinner or barbeque party out here.

...

* * *

...

Kenshin, Aoshi and Saitou are all university students. Sanosuke did not have any plan to study any further after high school graduation and Chou is a high school dropout.

Kenshin supposed to be in third year by now but he's a year behind since he dropped second semester when he was in first year for being hospitalized for almost four months right after first semester and this time had to drop two semesters consecutively because of the shooting of his new drama. Aoshi is in second year and did not have any class today and Saitou is in final year who have two classes at afternoon and so, he'll return after his class.

Both Kenshin and Aoshi are studying Bachelor of Arts on Film & Television Production. Interestingly, Saitou is studying something completely different from his current career. He's studying Law and Order as he wants to become a lawyer in future.

All of them have outstanding singing talents. Although the production house has their own songwriters and composers, Kenshin and Aoshi often write songs and compose music for the band. Besides singing, almost everyone can play at least one musical instrument. Chou is a very good guitarist. He also has hobby of collecting guitars. Saitou is a good pianist and guitarist. Sano can only play drums but he's very good with his beat. Aoshi can play piano, keyboard, guitar and flute, and Kenshin can play piano, keyboard, guitar and violin.

...

* * *

...

Kenshin set on a couch and started to read his script silently. After sometime he suddenly developed a faint head ache and could not focus on the dialogs. He flipped through pages and came across a part where Tomoe will serve dinner to Battousai and his comrades.

The character Battousai is only seventeen but he is twenty-one. The Director said he was chosen to play this role because he looks much younger than his age and a bit of makeup will conceal his real age. Plus, his fans will be very happy to see him as a samurai boy.

While reading through this chapter, he remembered she once invited him to her home where they had dinner with her family. He remembers that date too. It was September 20. He was introduced to her father, step-mother, two half-sisters and her own brother Enishi who is two years younger than her. Enishi didn't like him much. He didn't know the reason back then. But now he knows. He has been just jealous of him for being an over-protective brother and having high respect for Kyosato Akira.

Since he had dinner at her place and was introduced to her family, it was only fair of him to do the same. So he invited her to his home and cooked rice, nikujaga and miso soup with fish ball; fried tempura; prepared sushi, sukiyaki and brinjal pickle all by himself. He was that happy and excited that day. Though he lived with his parents back then he didn't ask for any help.

He was crazy for her. He was fifteen when he first dated her and visited her home when he was sixteen and invited her to his home the same year and was dumped when he was seventeen which sadly he thought was the best year of his life. That year he and his friends participated in a talent show produced by the most popular production house of the country, The Dragon's Heart, as they were hunting for gifted artists to launch new boy-band, new rock-band, solo artist, young actors and actresses. On that contest, he and his two best friends were chosen along with two other boys who gave audition and that's how there band was formed. Tomoe became brand model of a cosmetic company. So everything seemed too good to be real. It was all like a dream.

A month and two weeks later after the release of their first album, she called him one Sunday morning and asked him if she could see him. She wanted to tell him something very important. He thought she was probably going to talk about something related to work or study. He never thought that she was going to dump him. At that time, he felt betrayed.

But now he felt like a stupid when he had reflection on this past. He can now understand how foolish of him it was to take those dates so seriously. Well, he was too young and immature to understand everything. So, he made a big deal out of losing two years of his life from not being able to date some other girls. He was too immature to understand that it's really not necessary to fall in love with your date. Dating means trying to know and understand one another, to know whether the one someone dating is worth to be their life partner or not.

He understood it when he started to date again.

Seven months later since he had break-up with Tomoe, a rumor was spread by someone in the online community and later on tabloids which you all know by now. He and Kamatari were just good friends but someone made that story up as he wasn't seeing any girls ever since his breakup with Tomoe and around same time Kamatari also had a breakup with his boyfriend. Anyways, he knew his fan-base wouldn't do that as he heard they were rather delighted to know that he's single. They were jealous of Tomoe. It annoyed him for sometimes but then he accepted the reality which was their unconditional love for him. He enjoyed it but it couldn't replace the emptiness he felt inside.

At that time their Manager suggested him to find a girl to date to nullify the rumor. All thanks to Sanosuke who drag him to a night club and introduced to Komagata Yumi. She was a ramp model and two years older than him. He dated her six months. Then he remained single for four months and after his graduation, Sanosuke introduced Sae-dono to him, who happened to be the twin sister of his then girlfriend Sekihara Tae, whom he dated for two months only as both sisters decided to move to Tokyo permanently.

A month later, one evening, after completing the recording of the new single, he wanted to take a long ride on he wanted to take a long ride on his bike. And to do that he needed to go to the highway from the busy street of the city. So, when he was still in the main city street, he had to stop at a traffic signal and there, a black BMW without the sunroof, stopped besides his bike. The passengers of the car couldn't see his face as he was wearing a helmet with black glass but he could see them very clearly. There were two people sitting. One was a handsome young man who was sitting in the driving seat, wearing a gray party suit and next to him was a beautiful girl who was wearing a white party dress. Since people on the street needed to wait for a few minutes for the traffic light to go green the couples decided to be romantic. The man gently took the hand of his lady with a smile and kissed on her knuckles. The beautiful girl blushed and took back her hand. The scene was unbearable to Kenshin. Because the girl who was sitting there with so happy mood was indeed the girl whom he thought he would love all his life and who left him for the man who was sitting next to her. He couldn't stand the scene. Therefore, as soon as the traffic light went green, he picked up high speed and went to the highway where he eventually lost control since he became unmindful and had an accident with a small truck. The truck driver stopped his vehicle and called the police and ambulance for him. He was badly injured but it wasn't too serious. So, he had to stay in the hospital for next four months for which he missed the classes of fall semester. He had to go through even more trouble than missing that semester. He was fined and his license was cancelled for his recklessness. He was scolded by his dad and the President and their Manager had to call for a press meeting where he had to apologize to his fans for his carelessness.

Few weeks later when he was discharged from the hospital, he started to date Takani Megumi who happens to be the niece of the President. She's a pianist and a composer and used to be a student of Misao's high school. There were both positive and negative feedback from the media and fans regarding their dates. But he was never bothered with the negative feedback. It was his life and he had all the rights to decide whom he should date and whom not as long as there was no objection from the family. Eight months later they had an argument which led to a breakup.

He met Kairyu Shura at a party given by Sanosuke at their dorm where he invited some famous people from the entertainment background. She's an actress and met Sanosuke while she was visiting the production house for some work purpose. She told him about her interest in Kenshin and so Sanosuke decided convince Kenshin to date her. The date lasted for a month only. After her he dated Moriya Misanagi who is an actress and a daughter of a high profiled politician and also a student of same university where he is studying now. Again it was Sanosuke who told him to date her and right now he feels annoyed with himself for listening to his best friend like that and dating any girl his friend choose for him. He dated Misanagi for only a week and that's the shortest time he dated someone. Within the first two days of their dating he realized that she's very pompous and selfish. She cares for nothing but herself. But he managed to tolerate her for a whole week. So, after her, he decided not to listen to his friends anymore and find someone by himself.

But he couldn't find anyone until that particular girl caught his attention. He wished he knew her like Sanosuke or Aoshi. He wished she knew him just like she knows Sanosuke or Aoshi. He just can't believe Sanosuke never, ever mention anything about that girl. Not even when he teased Aoshi about Misao-dono.

Right now there were some magazines and websites has marked him as a playboy and a womanizer which was supported by a group of young girls who ran the fan-base of the rival bands.

But he's hopeful. Hopeful about meeting Kaoru-dono. And being introduced… formally. He wondered why she never showed any interest to meet him when she was a close friend of Misao-dono and knew Sanosuke and Aoshi when she has no boyfriend. _Was it because of those fan-base and magazines that marked him as __**a womanizer**__ only because he dated five girls since his break up with Tomoe?_ He swore to himself that he'll sue all of them if he finds out this was the reason.

And that's how he completely lost focus from his scripts and so left the study room and joined Sanosuke and Chou at the terrace.

...

* * *

...

At around eleven, Aoshi went to the terrace. After playing the keyboard for almost over two hours, he calmed himself down and so didn't mind joining the conversation.

They were reminiscing their childhood days, back when they were elementary school kids. It reminded Aoshi of little Misao-chan who was only four years old back then. She now grew up as a very cute girl whom he always felt like protecting, but didn't know from what.

Almost an hour later, at twelve past ten minutes, Aoshi's cell phone started to ring. He pulled it out from his pocket and answered with a faint smile after seeing the caller's name on the screen.

"Yeah." He answered the phone.

"Aoshi-sama!" An enthusiastic voice from the other side of the phone spoke. "Please decide a date where we all can meet."

"We all, means?" Aoshi asked with a smirk.

"You, me, Kaoru-chan, Himura-san, Saitou-san, Sano and Chou."

"You mean now she wants to meet everyone?!" It was an obvious surprise for Aoshi since Kaoru never really showed any interest to meet anyone from the band. She met Sanosuke only by chance.

"No, no, no. That's not it. She just doesn't want to meet Himura-san alone. That's why I was thinking why not we all meet at some place where she'll not feel awkward."

"It means she doesn't want to meet Himura-san at all. Am I right?"

"Oh! Aoshi-sama! Please give me an idea on how I can convince her to meet Himura-san."

"You shouldn't force her if she doesn't want to."

"I'm not forcing her." Misao said stubbornly.

"But you sound like you're desperate."

"So, you'll not help me? Come on. Please come up with and idea to meet somewhere tomorrow."

Aoshi looked at Kenshin who was eagerly waiting for an answer. "You took break for two days. So, do you wanna meet her tomorrow?"

"I would love to." _Yes! This is just what he needed. _Kenshin was a bit excited but this time tried his best to conceal his excitement.

"Oh, I forgot Himura-san supposed to be busy these days."

"Himura took break tomorrow and he would love to meet her."

"That's wonderful. Here is my plan. I'll invite Kuro, Shiro, Okon and Omasu."

"And where do you suggest all to show up?"

"Can we meet at the Firefly Karaoke?"

"When?"

"Anytime." Misao was now getting impatient.

"It usually remains too busy during afternoon and evening. People might notice us if we go there during day time."

"So, when do you suggest? Kaoru-chan's parents won't allow her to stay out after nine."

"Then how about we meet her at your place?"

"If it's okay with everyone, then it's awesome. Then you all are invited at my place for dinner tomorrow." Misao replied with all excitement.

"Okay. Now you better go back to your class if you don't want to be scolded by your teacher."

"How do you know I'm not in my classroom?"

"You're speaking really loudly about something which supposed to be confidential."

"You're a genius!"

"Thanks for the complement." He laughed inwardly thinking about her naivety. He put the phone back to his pocket.

Obviously no one could hear what the other side of the phone was saying but everyone was listening to his conversation with curiosity.

"Misao-chan invited us at her place for dinner where she'll introduce Himura to Kaoru-chan."

"Finally!" both Sanosuke and Chou exclaimed in unison.

"Finally what?" Aoshi asked.

"Finally we're invited to a dinner at Misao-chan's place after long four years." Sanosuke gave a grin.

"Finally Himura will meet the girl of his dream." Chou explained with a grin.

Aoshi just sighed at this and Kenshin's face turned red.

...

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

**A/N: **I'm happy with the story title but not with the band's name. So, I've listed some names I have in mind. Let me know which one you'll prefer.

-**True Friends** (Maybe the motto of the band here can be like they are true friends of their fans. And the fans can call themselves TF that is True Fans)

-**Crescent Moon** (from _Crescent Moon in the Warring States_ which is the first manga by Watsuki Sensei. Here we come across Hiko and Hiten-Mitsurugi-ryuu for the first time though that story is not really related to RK's Hiko.)

-**Niji Ryuu** (If you guys think this name is okay.)

-**Shinta** (if we chose this name, it will not be related to Kenshin.)


End file.
